Atari 2600+ Casual Play Series

[Sabertooth]

I'm beginning a weekly casual gameplay only series on the 2600+ starting with my childhood favorites.  No practicing in advance. Just on and play.

The first game is Q*bert. I adore the 2600 port. Played in Expert Mode with the new CX-40+.

 

[TrekMD]

You know, despite the limitations, this port of Q*bert is really nicely done. 

[sramirez2008]

12 hours ago, TrekMD said:

You know, despite the limitations, this port of Q*bert is really nicely done. 

100% The gameplay is there, the colors are nice to look at and it plays a nice tune between waves. This was always one of my favorite games for the 2600.  IMO, this cart deseverves to be in everyones collection.

Edited December 4, 2023 by sramirez2008

[Sabertooth]

The second game in the 2600+ Casual series is Ms. Pac-Man.  The wizards at GCC did an amazing job with this port.  I was too young to know that Tod Frye's Pac-Man was bad - I played the heck out of it - but even my six-year old self knew this was an improvement. 

 

[TrekMD]

Oh, when Ms. Pac-Man was released on the 2600, I never played the original Pac-Man!  It's too much of an improvement!

[Sabertooth]

The third game in the 2600+ Casual series is Dig Dug. Another silver label release from the geniuses at GCC, this was in constant rotation in my childhood Coleco Gemini.

 

[Cryptocoffee13]

I loved Mrs Pac-Man when it first came out! It was such an improvement over Pac-Man and I never tired of playing it, even today. The worst was trying to get to 100k points as a kid and I would typically die somewhere in the mid 95k or so area and there were no continues of course so you would have to start again. 

[Cryptocoffee13]

On 12/16/2023 at 11:30 AM, Sabertooth said:

The third game in the 2600+ Casual series is Dig Dug. Another silver label release from the geniuses at GCC, this was in constant rotation in my childhood Coleco Gemini.

 

I can't believe I never had this game as a kid. It's a solid game 

[TrekMD]

Oh, Dig Dug on the 2600 is awesome!  Atari did a much better job adapting this game compared to what Coleco did with Mr. Do!  At least on this game you can make tunnels.  No such luck on Mr. Do!  You just erase everything and there are no tunnels!  Unfortunate as the game is otherwise pretty good.

[Sabertooth]

I was a little late with the fourth installment due to holiday travel and work commitments.  Here is the first 7800 game in the series: Robotron 2084!  I got into the 7800 later in life and adore all of the GCC developed launch titles, and Robotron is one of my absolute favorites. 

Played with the @RetroGameBoyz Robotron controller, which I was thrilled to find working as expected. 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Sabertooth

[Marco1019]

This is a really impressive port and showcases the capabilities of the 7800.

[TrekMD]

3 hours ago, Marco1019 said:

This is a really impressive port and showcases the capabilities of the 7800.

Gotta agree with that assessment.  It is one awesome game and one that can be played with dual sticks!  It gives the game an even truer arcade feel!

[sramirez2008]

Robotron shows off the 7800s color palette and is a smooth running game. No slowdown at all, unlike the 5200 version which does experience occasional slowdown. Total twin-stick goodness.

[Sabertooth]

The 2600+ Casual Play series returns to Saturday morning with another 7800 game: Mario Bros.

I always thought it was wild that Atari released this port in 1988, presumably under the earlier (pre-NES) licensing agreement. It's a solid port and probably the best of the three Nintendo properties to make it to the 7800.

 

[TrekMD]

I've always enjoyed this version of the game.  There's a homebrew version that is almost complete that is as arcade-accurate as it gets.

[Sabertooth]

1 hour ago, TrekMD said:

I've always enjoyed this version of the game.  There's a homebrew version that is almost complete that is as arcade-accurate as it gets.

I'll have to look for that.  I'd love to see this with arcade accurate sprites on the 7800.

[Sabertooth]

@TrekMD - I just looked up the ZPH video on the homebrew port. Amazing stuff. I hope it gets a release somewhere. Not a ton of info on it surprisingly.

[TrekMD]

2 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

@TrekMD - I just looked up the ZPH video on the homebrew port. Amazing stuff. I hope it gets a release somewhere. Not a ton of info on it surprisingly.

It sure is!  I am hopeful it does get a release sometime soon. 

[Sabertooth]

The first Activision game to hit the series is Seaquest (1983). I love Steve Cartwright's work on the 2600. Barnstorming, Seaquest, Megamania, Frostbite...great stuff.

Seaquest is one I came to as an adult.  I love the bright colors and simple but challenging gameplay. I really wanted a patch worthy score, but it was not to be...

What do you think of Seaquest?

 

 

[Smell Dawg]

It's fun time - I always end up getting frantically worked up playing it!  The most unforgettable piece of Seaquest is definitely the TV ad for it 😆 - they don't make 'em like that anymore!

YouTube - Seaquest (Atari 2600) Ad

[Sabertooth]

1 hour ago, Smell Dawg said:

It's fun time - I always end up getting frantically worked up playing it!  The most unforgettable piece of Seaquest is definitely the TV ad for it 😆 - they don't make 'em like that anymore!

YouTube - Seaquest (Atari 2600) Ad

I have never seen that commercial! Why does Neptune have a horde of pirate submarines at his command? It seems like it should have been sharks and merfolk.

[sramirez2008]

This is my 2nd most favorite (H.E.R.O. is #1 for me) Activision game. Love the gameplay and SFX. My personal HS is 148,190 and has been recorded on the PlusCart Highscore Club page for Seaquest.

[Sabertooth]

11 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

This is my 2nd most favorite (H.E.R.O. is #1 for me) Activision game. Love the gameplay and SFX. My personal HS is 148,190 and has been recorded on the PlusCart Highscore Club page for Seaquest.

That's almost a triple patch score. We'll done!

[sramirez2008]

1 minute ago, Sabertooth said:

That's almost a triple patch score. We'll done!

Yep. I'm definetly a member of the "Sea Club", but my score pales in comparison to others on the PlusCart HS Club page. The top score is 423,440. 

[TrekMD]

8 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

This is my 2nd most favorite (H.E.R.O. is #1 for me) Activision game. Love the gameplay and SFX. My personal HS is 148,190 and has been recorded on the PlusCart Highscore Club page for Seaquest.

This is such a cool game!  Activision always made the 2600 shine!  Did you earn that patch back in the day?